When Werewolves get sick
by Chalyn the redneck bitch
Summary: What happens when werewolves fall under the weather? Or when Remus can't stay awake for his classes? Read and Review! COMPLETE!
1. WAKE UP!

_Hi, me again doing another MWPP fic. This one's not going to be a oneshot though. I thought one with a bit more plot and structure would be better. _

_Disclaimer: I'm from Missouri. I you don't know, that's in America so…don't own. Wish I did though…lots of money._

"My god Moony, wake up."

Remus Lupin slowly raised his head from his arm. They were in the Great Hall eating breakfast. Peter was eating; Sirius was turned around mouthing words to his Ravenclaw girlfriend. James sat right across from him, staring over his glass of pumpkin juice.

"What's it to you?"

"Well we _just_ got down here…WAKE UP!"

Remus jolted back awake and glared at James. Before the argument could even start, Sirius turned around. "Ease up Prongs. You know how he is…this time of month."

"Shut your mouth Sirius! Besides, it's not that time of month. Check the calendar."

"Moony calm down…Moony? Remus? For the love of god! WAKE UP!"

Remus glared at James. "If you don't stop yelling I swear by Merlin's pants I'll crucio you into next week."

Peter looked up at the two. Sirius smoothly got out of his seat and went to sit with the Ravenclaws. Remus was glaring at James and vise-versa. In an attempt to ease the tension, Peter said: "Why exactly do we swear by Merlin and his clothes? I mean…"

James and Remus both shouted at him: "Shut-up Wormtail!"

Remus, having had enough, got up, grabbed his bag, and left for Divination. Sirius looked after him for a bit before giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek and going over to where he had been sitting. James grunted at him.

"Nicely handled Prongs."

"Shut-up. Not my fault he's such a prat."

"Well…"

"Don't start." James sighed, "Sorry. I'm just worried about him. He doesn't just fall asleep, not even the day after."

Sirius nodded and grabbed his bag. James and Peter followed suit and the three went to the North Tower to join Remus.

_Reviews are loved so give a bitch some love huh? Click it…why are you still reading this? CLICK THE BUTTON. LOL take your time._


	2. Divination Class

_Chapter two is up and running…read and review that's what I thrive on!_

_Disclaimer: Do I __**really**_ _have to say this? I don't own it…Missouri…blah blah blah…_

In Divination class, James Sirius and Peter found Remus slowly getting their things together for the lesson, though you could tell all he wanted to do was lie down and take a nap. Seeing this, Sirius showed that he truly belonged in Gryffindor by swooping over and taking all the things out of the sandy haired boy's hands and assembling them on the table himself. Peter took his and Sirius's bags and plopped down on a cushion. James just stood there, analyzing his friend with a mixture of worry and agitation. He let the moment pass however when the rest of the class began filtering in and he sat down on the empty cushion at the Marauders' table. Professor Figgins came in after a few minutes of chatter and went about in his usual way, examining each table to see that they had the appropriate items. He was frighteningly like McGonnogal in that manner. And despite Peter's attempts, Remus couldn't lift his head off the table. Figgins didn't find this amusing at all, though Severus at a nearby table did.

"Mister Lupin!"

"Huh? Wha-oh. Sorry Professor…"

"Perhaps we should wait for you to finish your little nap before continuing on with the lesson, or are you awake enough now for me to begin."

Remus took a moment to fully understand what had been said. His eyes glazed over and James kicked his leg to get his attention. "Huh-yes Professor. Please continue."

Satisfied, Figgins went to his desk and told the class to gaze into their crystal balls. Sirius went first, having Peter record what he saw.

"A cloudy night…it's a full moon…"

"Is it your fortune or Moony's?"

"Prongs…" Remus drawled, half asleep but still irritated at the minor slip.

"Er…the reading's over but I'll wait till later to tell. Prongs, you go."

Peter scrapped what he'd written and got ready to write again. James said no and had Sirius write it, saying something about not being able to read henscratch.

"A woman in a wedding dress…wait, it's Lily! And…me! We're getting married! Such a turn-out too. Pads, you're my best man and Moony, you're right next to him."

"Where am I?"

"No idea Peter; you don't seem to be here. But hey, these things can't be completely accurate, right?"

"Right. Like Lily's ever going to marry a git like you."

"Shut up Snivellus!"

Remus mumbled in his sleep, ignored by the others, who were enthralled by James's fortune. In a moment it was gone and he was looking over Sirius's account of what he'd seen.

"Pads, you didn't describe Lilly enough. And you barely mentioned that firey kiss at the end. But you did point out that our dear Wormtail isn't present."

Peter sank lower into his seat at that mention, to which James patted his shoulder in an exaggerated mimic of Madam Pomfrey whenever Moony changed back into a human. He brightened at the gesture and Sirius rolled his eyes. Peter looked into the ball.

"I'm with this guy…he's white as a fish! And his eyes look like snakes…"

"Snivellus."

"No…no greasy hair. He's bald."

Everyone laughed at that, met by a glare from Snape.

"I seem to be bowing down and changing to a…a rat! There I go…scurrying away…"

"Going to find some cheese?"

"Very funny. Wait…the guy's poking his arm with his wand and…wow a whole ton of people just showed up. He's bossing them around…wait…Snivellus is there…"

"Still got the hair?"

"Still got the hair. Even longer and greasier if that's possible. And there's Lucius, the prefect, and some white-haired woman next to him; she looks pregnant or something…"

"The way to a man's stomach is through his stomach, but I'm not sure the same applies to women, Wormtail."

"I'm just saying…there it went. Wow that was weird."

"Yeah. Who wants to wake Moony up?"

"Let's just fake his reading. He probably needs the sleep."

"Are you kidding? He went to bed early last night and slept through half of breakfast and the class thus far; he'd kill us anyway."

"I'd just like to say that I'm not asleep and no I wouldn't kill you. Just hex you later."

"Hexes are for girls."

"Says you Peter. So since we're awake, do we feel like a trip through crystal?"

The thought made Remus light-headed, or was that from lifting his head? "Not really. Feel free to fake it, just no more slips about…me."

"You got it buddy. Okay so…James, you do it."

James smiled mischieviously and set to work writing out a scene in which Remus was in the hospital. Not the wing on the fourth floor, St. Mungos. When he was done, he showed it to Sirius, who smirked and piled all of theirs together.

"Wait, you never did yours."

"Sure I did. It was me getting a godson named Harry. In affiliation with Prongs's fortune."

"Who says you get to be godfather? And who says I'll name him Harry? Or if it won't be a girl?"

"Me on all counts. Just think: best friend, best man, godfather of your son…the only thing wrong with that picture is if I got sent to Azkaban or something…"

They all laughed and Sirius handed the four sheets of parchment to Professor Figgens, who merely grunted as he took them and set them in a growing pile. Class dismissed and the four went on to Transfiguration.

_Ya I hoped you liked it! Read and Review…that little button right down there...stop reading this and review!_


	3. What's wrong with him?

Our four Marauders walked into the Transfiguration classroom. Make that: three of them did. For Remus it was more of a stumble. He staggered to his desk and collapsed into it, much to the irritation of McGonagall. She marched over as the other three sat their bags down and stood over Remus like a hawk over a mouse.

"Is there some reason why you feel you have to break my desk?"

"Sorry…" Remus slurred. McGonagall's face went from irritation to concern.

"Are you alright?"

"He's a little sick Professor." Sirius said.

"But, but it's not…"

"No ma'am; he's just sick."

"I'm just tired…can't everyone just leave me alone…open a window or something it's so flipping hot…"

McGonagall felt the back of his neck [he had his forehead rested on his arm] and found that he had a fever. She looked around the room to see that some other students were coming in. "Sirius, James, would you please take Remus to the hospital wing? I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can help."

"I don't need a hospital…just a nap…and someone open a bloody window…"

Sirius and James pulled Remus out of his chair and walked him out of the room. Halfway to the stairs, his legs buckled and they had to stop him from falling. Each one had an arm around their shoulders as they escorted him up the stairs to the fourth floor. He'd stopped mumbling about it being hot; he'd stopped even talking at all. Sirius wondered if this was good or bad while James was a little happy for relative silence, save for the other students rushing to get to their classes. In respectable time, they were walking through the doors of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was checking on the few that were in there and gasped to see the boys walk in.

"My! What happened?"

"He's sick, ma'am."

"Well I'd say so. Come put him in this bed." She walked to an empty one and the boys took their ailing werewolf over. After checking over him, "Well he's got quite a fever. And that rash on his chest, how long has he had that?"

"We don't usually strip our shirts off for each other ma'am."

"Yes well, it's rather large. And he's hardly breathing at all. I'm not quite sure what this is."

"Oh well that's comforting."

"James! Thank-you ma'am."

"Sure. Now you two run back to class; he's safe here. Have Minerva come see me when she gets a chance, would you?"

"Sure thing. Thanks again."

James and Sirius left the hospital wing and went back to Transfiguration class. McGonagall had just finished explaining the spell to transfigure dragon statues.

"And that's how the Draconifirs spell is useful. Class dismissed; I'm sure you all need the extra time to finish homework." Everyone left except the three remaining Marauders. "Peter, you too. I'm sure you don't have a collar on you; go on, run along. James and Sirius shall join you shortly." Peter sulked out of the room and McGonagall, less stern than usual, called James and Sirius to the front.

"Yes Professor?"

"Well, what's wrong?"

"She's not sure ma'am. She did say that you should come and see her when you get a chance."

McGonagall nodded. "Yes…yes I should go. You two run along; I'll send word when you can come." The boys nodded and left. McGonagall sighed and rushed to the Hospital Wing. When she saw the sandy haired boy laid out on the bed, her heart lurched. Madam Pomfrey had apparently asked a visiting student to keep tabs on the other handful of patients while she busied herself with Remus. She saw Minerva and shook her head.

"He'll have to go to St. Mungo's. This is out of my hands."

"Yes but…Poppy…what is it?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."


	4. Taken to St Mungo's

James and Sirius were being filled in on the lesson by Peter, who stopped every few phrases to ask how Remus was. After the fifth time, James lost his cool.

"Merlin's beard! How many times do we have to tell you: we don't know how he is! We won't know until McGonagall sends us word about him. Now stop asking!"

The smaller boy cringed under the yelling voice of James. As if on cue to end the awkward silence, a silvery cat appeared in the room. McGonagall's voice came from it. "Hello boys. If you would, James and Sirius, would you come down to the hospital wing for a moment? Peter, I'm sure you have something to do other than follow them around all day." With that, the cat disappeared and the two summoned Marauders got off of their four-posters and left, leaving Peter to sulk alone.

At the hospital wing, James and Sirius ran to the bed they'd put Remus on. What they found was truly disturbing. He was three shades paler than he had been, his scars even more pronounced. The rash had started to climb up his neck and throat and his head thrashed in his sleep. If you looked hard, you could see his eyeballs rolling wildly beneath their lids, and he occasionally snarled or something equally disturbing. Madam Pomfrey looked quite haphazard and McGonagall was very grave indeed.

"He's to be taken to St. Mungo's right now. Boys, should you choose to come along, I shall see to it that no points are taken away because of it."

To Sirius and James, this would usually be an instant "Oh my god she's letting us skip Potions class" moment. But at this time, it was more of a panic-strung no duh moment. They each took an arm and took Remus to the fireplace. His feet dragged slightly but even in his fevered sleep he tried to walk. They flooed to St. Mungo's and, to James and Sirius's surprise, were directed straight to a room without anyone registering Remus. That baffled and worried them but they didn't have time to think about that; they just followed the two women in front of them to a solitary room. They put the ailing werewolf in the bed and watched him suffer his fevered nightmares. An attending nurse walked in, took one look at him on the bed, and left in a hurry. Shortly, a healer came in and did a check, asking Madam Pomfrey questions. When he was done, he stood up straight and shook his head.

"This boy is very ill. He'll probably never fully recover, if he recovers at all."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Well, it seems he's got a very rare disease; we don't see it too often. It only seems to affect werewolves, and since they only get it once we don't see them again. It's commonly referred to as the sleeping sickness. I understand he's been unusually tired lately? That confirms it. None of you are in any danger of getting it, unless you're secretly werewolves. Now then, he'll be staying here until such time as I deem him healthy enough to leave."

Everyone nodded and said thank-you. After one last good-bye look, they left and returned to the school. James and Sirius went to their dorm room, grabbed their bags, and rushed to Potions class. Even though McGonagall had promised no points would be taken, they didn't want to give Professor Slughorn any excuse to make spectacles of them.


	5. Potions and fortunes

Professor Slughorn was in the middle of lecturing when James and Sirius walked in. The look he gave them was priceless.

"Is there a reason why you boys feel it necessary to come in fifteen minutes late?!"

"Yes sir."

After waiting a moment, "Well let's have it then!"

"Sir," Sirius shook a lock of hair out of his face; James and Peter knew that look, "We can't tell you on account of protecting our identities and those of our dearest friends. However, we can say that we were with Professor McGonagall."

This calmed him a little and he gave them the evil eye before continuing on. He didn't bother to start over, leaving James and Sirius with half of the instructions for the Girding potion. On the other hand, James was sure it was in the book somewhere and Peter had taken notes [surprised, yes.] in his henscratch handwriting. So their potion didn't turn out too terribly bad. Afterwards, they went to their dorm and sat in silence for a few minutes.

"It's not the same with out Moony. Even when he was sleeping through everything, at least he was there."

"I know what you mean. But he'll be okay; the healers will save him."

"Yeah but…he said he'd never fully recover…"

"No, he said he'd _probably_ never fully recover; there's a difference. He will; he's a strong one. I bet he's trying to stay awake even as we speak so he can come back here."

"God I hope so; or else our grades are lost!"

They all had a good laugh at Peter's simpleness. Then James changed the subject.

"Pads, what was your fortune? You said you'd tell us later; we're alone now."

Sirius sighed deeply and bowed his head. "You won't want to hear it Prongs. It was weird…"

"Let me be the judge of that." James insisted, leaning in intently.

"Well it was a full moon. As the clouds moved, Moony changed. I ran to him and held him, trying to talk him through resisting it."

"That never works. He has to have his potion and even then…"

"There were three kids. And Snape."

"Snivillus?"

"Professor Snivillus Snape. Anyway, Moony changed anyway and tried to attack but I got him. Apparently I'm going to have an animagus of a dog. Then one of the kids," he looked at James intently, "Your kid, ran over to distract him from killing me. Then he just left and dementors swarmed around. That's all but…"

"Did you really say my kid? As in…"

"He wasn't just yours. He had Lily's eyes. And this scar on his forehead, shaped like a lightning bolt."

"So that's how you knew it'd be a boy…wow…but why would dementors swarm around you?"

"I don't know. But whatever the reason, I don't want to know it for real."

After that, the three tucked in to bed and slept with troublesome dreams of their fortunes and Remus. They all seemed to tie together somehow, which was okay for James and Sirius but Peter's fortune had been truly distressing. But crystal balls can't always be right, can they?


	6. Dream Sweatly

_Though it was in the middle of the night, there was enough light to see by. A young child, no more than five, had wakened up to use the loo. There was a terrible noise outside the door and he went to investigate. The door crashed in and in came a horrible looking creature. Too scared to scream, the boy stood glued to the spot. Two adults, presumably his parents, came running in. The woman fainted and the man kept his wand pointed at the thing. But before he could cast the spell the werewolf grabbed the boy and threw him out. It pounced and bit. It bit and clawed and bit some more, until there was nothing left but a barely living body, doomed to never again be the same, never again be human. _

A healer looked down at Remus with pity. What a shame a boy so young should have to endure such an infliction. Not only the Sleeping Sickness which racked his body, but the lycamfrea which made him become a mindless monster once a month, and made it possible to get this disease in the first place. Such a young boy, with hopes and dreams in the wizarding world, never to come true.

_It was the day after Thanksgiving. A sandy-haired boy went outside, swimming through the air as his head started to pound. In a few more minutes he'd change to the same form as that horrible mindless creature that had almost killed him that night so long ago. He poked the spot on the tree and went inside, almost falling through the tunnel. As he stumbled into the shack, he saw the matron waiting for him with pity-filled eyes. Before he could say anything that might make that pity go away, the pain overwhelmed him and hair grew all over his body. In minutes, the transformation was complete and he was thrashing about the room. The matron bowed her head and shook it sorrowfully. _

A frail looking woman sat by Remus's bedside. Her dress hung about her bony frame loosely, her face pale with more lines than should be present for her age. Her sandy hair was pulled back into a plain bun behind her head and her bony hand had a single band on it: her wedding band. There were marks of wear and tear all over her but she seemed not to notice as she gently caressed Remus's face, tracing his scars with a pained expression on her face. Her amber eyes watered and she wiped away a tear. Such a young boy, with such a marred body and memory, never to live out his dreams.

_It was to be the first time the boy would be alone when he changed. He'd become too dangerous for the matron to remain present for fear of being bitten. He'd left the castle earlier just to be sure he'd get there in time. When he got there his head was just starting to throb. As he paced the room, he tried hard not to cry that he had to be alone. Just then a boy of the same age with greasy black hair came tumbling in. He was too scared to run; the transformation had already begun. Another raven-haired boy ran in and grabbed the frightened boy, jerking him back and dragging him through the tunnel and out from under the tree. The werewolf threw himself and anything it could find at the walls. A chair was broken, new cuts formed. _

A man had joined the woman at Remus's bedside. He too looked frail but still strong. His face was creased at the brow and his hand had a matching wedding band. This same hand held the woman's as she cried into his shoulder. The other gripped Remus's shoulder firmly, as if willing strength and awareness to flow through to him.


	7. Back at Hogwarts!

There were whispering voices all around. Remus squeezed his eyes tight shut even though all he wanted to do was open them.

"He's coming around!" someone hissed.

"About bloody time too. He's had his mum and dad worried sick."

"Not to mention us."

"Indeed."

Recognition came over Remus as he listened to the voices. James, Sirius, and Peter were in the room with him, surrounding him on his sickbed like true friends should. As he opened his eyes, he moaned; the light was too bright. He tried to move his arm to shade his eyes but found that he couldn't. Oh well he could just keep his eyes closed for the moment.

"J-James? Sirius? Peter?"

"All here buddy. We're all here."

"Open those eyes; I haven't seen those bright amber eyes in weeks."

"W-weeks? WEEKS?!" Remus jolted upward but fell back after going a few inches. His eyes were wide open with fear etched into them. Had he really been asleep for weeks? That must mean it was time for the full moon!

"Yes weeks my dear Moony. Er…Wormtail, would you be so kind as to tell his parents that he's awake? Thank-you." James waited till Peter was out of the room for a few seconds before he continued. "You'll not be turning to a werewolf. Not this month; at least the healer doesn't think so."

"Why? What happened?"

"You slept through the full moon. You sorta changed but nothing major."

"Okay…so why'd you send Peter out? He knows I'm a-well he knows."

"Because he…what I mean is…"

"He was here with you when it happened and…"

"Well…"

"Spit it out already!" Remus was breathing hard after yelling but annoyance still flared in his eyes.

"You kinda…"

"Took a nibble."

"Padfoot! That's such a cynical way of putting it!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Remus shook his head slowly, squinting up at his two friends, "You mean I…_bit_ him? As in, I sank my teeth into his flesh and bit him? While I was a werewolf?"

"Um…yes?"

"Aaaargh!" A healer ran in with Remus's parents and Peter. He ushered them all away angrily. "You mean to tell me that I-" he dropped his voice to a whisper, "I _bit_ one of my best friends? Did I bite anyone else? And how could I when I was asleep?"

"Yes, you bit our Wormtail but he's okay. A healer wrapped his arm where it happened and we erased his memory. He thinks he just fell off of a broomstick. Now as for how you did it, well that remains a mystery."

"And no you didn't bite anyone else."

Slight relief came over Remus, but not without a touch of fear. After a minute, the healer brought the crowd in again and the Marauders stepped outside to let the family reunion commence. They sat in chairs in the visiting area. Peter held his arm carefully, not wanting anything to bump it and make the pain worse. James looked at him with an unrecognizable look in his eyes. Sirius knew that look: it was the look his cousin Bellatrix got every time she saw him. It had no malice, no hate, only sorrow and pity. Even though the look was in both their eyes for completely different reasons, he still knew it and held his own pity back. Pity never did anyone any good and they needed all the good they could get.

After a few days, the healer said Remus could return to Hogwarts. Glad though he was, he really didn't want to face the load of homework that was no doubt waiting for him. It was Friday night when they got there and the next day they were all on their way down to breakfast.

"Wormtail, if you yawn one more time I think I'm going to have to hex you."

"I thought you said hexes are for girls." Remus laughed.

"Okay, if you don't stop yawning I'll curse you into next week. There, that better?"

"Okay guys, if you're done playing pick-on-Peter now…"

Everyone laughed and sat down at their respective places. James looked at Peter.

"Good lord Wormtail, that's not funny!"

He didn't even flinch. James looked at Remus with worried filled eyes, which were returned.

"Wormtail? Peter?"

Sirius gave the other three one look and knew what was wrong. "Oh shit."

_THE END!_

_Okay, thank-you all SO much for reading this and reviewing I hope you really liked it. Dae DaDa Guaha! _


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